Fresh white fish cured in lime "leche de tigre" with red onion, chili, and cilantro — Peru's national dish.

Where does Ceviche come from?

Ceviche is a Peruvian dish from Lima, Peru.

Can Ceviche be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Ceviche recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Ceviche take to make?

About 25 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Ceviche — a Lima, Peru recipe

Name: Ceviche
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: 1 lb very fresh firm white fish (sea bass or corvina), cubed; 3/4 cup fresh lime juice; 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 1 ají limo or serrano chili, minced; a handful cilantro; 1 sweet potato; 1 ear corn to serve

South America → 🇵🇪 Peru → Lima

Ceviche

Peruvian · easy · serves 4

prep 25 min · cook 0 min

~227 cal · 26g protein · 15g carbs · 7g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Cubes of white fish in lime marinade with red onion and cilantro

🇵🇪 Lima

Ceviche is Lima on a plate: cold Pacific fish cured in nothing but time and lime. The tart, spicy marinade the Peruvians call leche de tigre — tiger's milk — is prized enough to drink on its own, and the dish is eaten fresh and fast, traditionally at lunch when the catch is newest.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

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1 lb very fresh firm white fish (sea bass or corvina), cubed

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3/4 cup fresh lime juice

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1 red onion, thinly sliced

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1 ají limo or serrano chili, minced

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a handful cilantro

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1 sweet potato

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1 ear corn to serve

Instructions

1

Rinse the sliced red onion in cold water to soften its bite; set aside.

2

Toss the fish (or hearts of palm) with salt, then the lime juice and chili, and let it cure 10–15 minutes until the fish turns opaque at the edges.

3

Fold in the onion and most of the cilantro just before serving.

4

Spoon into cold bowls with plenty of the leche de tigre.

5

Serve with boiled sweet potato and corn on the side to balance the acid.

Lima classic.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Lima. The capital where Andean and Asian cooking fused into something new.

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Peru. Coast, mountain, and jungle — plus a wave of Japanese and Chinese influence.

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South America. Andes, Amazon, and Atlantic all on one plate.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →